Gov. Phil Bryant and University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones spoke at the event on the UMC campus in Jackson.

In October 2012, Bryant directed $10 million in grant funding to the School of Medicine to launch the effort.

UMC officials said the new $63 million School of Medicine building will provide space for larger medical class sizes and help UMC reach its goal of training nearly 1,000 additional doctors by 2025.

"I am thrilled to break ground on this expansion of the School of Medicine," Bryant said. "Mississippi is in need of more bright, skilled physicians to provide quality medical care to our residents and to those patients from other states who seek outstanding care in Mississippi, and this state-of-the-art expansion will allow us to provide better training to even more students."